Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-27
DAILY HERALD.
ENyIRONs OF PARIS.
some of the Points Of interest
Near the French CaPttai.

some Of the Points Of Interest
Near the French Capital.
With the return Of spring comes the
season for excursions into the envi-
rons of Paris, and l for one, says a
correspondent, am fond of fresh air,
the perfumery of flowers and the de-
light of lying on the grass in the shade
Of forest trees. The country close
about this gay capital is pretty, so far
as landscapes go, but the lawns and
roadways are sadly neglected. Fur
ther from town, however, there
are well-kept turnpikes bordered
by pretty villas, stately manors
and chateaux, which are relics of
royal splendors. Then when we
get well into the country, off yon-
der into the departments of the
Beauce or of the Brie, the real thing
presents itself with lowly peasant cot
tages, comfortable farm houses and
plowed fields or orchards already
blossoming. Really, must write a
book some day about things that l
have seen in the environs and outly-
ing provinces, for rural France seems
to me forever lovely. l will COM
mence with the Bois de Boulogne,
describe its balmy freshness, its cas-
cades, winding streams, placid lakes,
chalets, restaurants and nasty beer
saloons. shall tell its history; OF
how this enchanted wood, this favor
lite promenade of fashionable Tout Par
is was once a dangerous forest filled
with outlaws and wild beasts, and
where Merovingtan kings hunted
boars, wolves and bears. Then it was
immense, covering the whole coun-
try from Saint Cloud to Saint Ouen,
and taking in the plains of Monceau
and Roule, parts of Paris which are
now laid out into streets and built up
with splendid houses. Later on, about
I474, when the robbers of the forest
Of Rouvray had all been hung, and
the bears and wolves were well exter-
minated, it became royal hunting
park for stays and deer under the jur-
isdiction of Oliver lie Daim, whose Of
fetal title was Grand Ecuyer of Rouv-
ray.
The convent of Longchamps stood
in the heart of the forest, just there
where is now the windmill and the
racing hippodrome, and it was one OF
the most famous and wickedest rellg-
ious establishments France has ever
known. Founded by the sister OF st.
Louis, all the great names in the king
dom were ON its rolls of members, and
many of its abesses were OF royal
blood, and it was in the same convent
that Philippe V died in 1922. At that
time the woods were still infested
with robbers and desperate charac-
ters, who used to lie in wait for pill
grims and travellers approaching Paris.
Tradition relates that the Prov9ncal
troubadour, Armand Catelan, who
had been sent on mission by King
Rene to the French Court, while
traversing the forest, was murdered
by his escort at the spot marked by
the commemorative pyramid, which
stands near the field and dairy farm
that bears his name to-day. In 1928
Francis l. built the Chateau of Ma
drid, as a souvenir OF the time he had
spent in Spain as prisoner of war,
after the battle OF Pavia. He had it
built on the same model as the castle
in which he was confined
while in the hands of Charles V.
and it was ornamented with some
splendid Della Robia enamels. A
contemporary writer describing it said
that it "sparkled like a jewel of a
thousand colors lying gracefully in a
green velvet case" In 1898 vandal
architect broke up these magnificent
enamels and converted them into
plaster, only a few pieces escaping,
and these are to be seen, some Of
them, at the MUSES. du Cluny, others
at the restaurant into which what is
left of the chateau has ben converted.
II San Francisco Chronicle.